Study Finds Fad Diets Are Not Always Successful

Hemera/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) -- With so many so many to choose from -- Adkins, South Beach, Raw food, etc. -- weight watchers are wondering, do they really work? A new study by the Journal of the American Medical Association says people should not get hung up on the latest diet trend.

A comparison analysis showed only a difference of two to four pounds in total weight loss between diets.

"When there is one that's slightly better than another one, the difference is very small -- usually around two pounds. The biggest difference across all of those reviewed was about four pounds between one diet or another," Dr. Sherry Pagoto of the University of Massachusetts Medical School told ABC News.

"My concern is that it's confusing people, because we're constantly switching up and getting caught up into whatever the latest trend is," Pagoto added. "It's becoming even more complicated for them rather than easier."

Instead, Pagoto and researchers suggest that people who want to lose weight should keep it simple and stick to a diet that works for them. While diets do work, they say that there is no one diet that works better than another.

"We work with patients on the approach of just sort of taking whatever your current diet is, which we know you like, because that's what you're eating, and trying to shrink it down to where you're eating less and making some healthier choices," Pagoto said.